P a g e | 1 Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Mongolia: Flash floodingfloods DREF n° MDRMN008 Glide n° FL-2018-000092-MNG DREF; Date of issue: 15 July 2018 Expected timeframe: 3 months Expected end date: 15 October 2018 Category allocated to the of the disaster or crisis: Yellow DREF allocated: CHF 163,909 Total number of people affected: 2,850 people (792 Number of people to be assisted: 1,710 people households) (475 households) Host National Society(ies) presence (n° of volunteers, staff, branches): Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS): The MRCS has 34 mid-level branches and over 800 primary level branches covering all provinces of Mongolia. MRCS has 12,500 volunteers and 75,000 youth members. MRCS has established 7 regional disaster preparedness centres. Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners actively involved in the operation: The National Society works with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in this operation. Other partner organizations actively involved in the operation: Mongolia National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), local government units (LGUs), social welfare offices, Bank service. A. Situation analysis Description of the disaster Between 3 to 5 July 2018, heavy rainfalls of unprecedented intensity caused flash floods in several parts of the country, affecting more than 792 households. Following the heavy rainfall, the province centers of Khovd, Bayan-Ulgii, Zavkhan, Uvurkhangai, and 1 khoroo1 in Khan-Uul district were flooded, resulting in the loss of lives, damages to shelters, properties, and livelihoods of the community members. Affected families in Khovd province have been relocated to temporary shelters, but due to heavy winds and rain, plastic shelter covers have not been able to hold and protect people living in these temporary shelters. The local Emergency Commission then made the decision to relocate affected families to different areas, and to settle their land issues. Some families found shelter with their relatives and are living in host families. Gers flooded with water become inhabitable and require relocation and new shelters. (Photo: MRCS) 1 A “khoroo” is an administrative subdivision of Ulaanbaatar, and is often translated as a sub-district. P a g e | 2 Map of affected districts and provinces, Mongolia and general overview of assessment findings. (Source: IFRC) Between the 9 to 11 July 2018, The National Disaster Response Team members (NDRT), together with the Branch Disaster Response Team (BDRT), conducted assessments and interviews of the affected population in Khovd province. Meetings with local authorities were also held to get more information on what kind of support would be provided by the local authorities and identify gaps. Flooding overwhelmed the local response capacity, thus the local emergency management agency is requesting assistance from neighboring provinces to provide additional human resources to help with response operations. Local authorities have deployed its emergency teams to help clean the flooded area of debris, mud, and to drain the flood waters. The decision then to request for DREF support was initiated on 9 July 2018. As a member of the Emergency Commission, MRCS has been requested by the local authorities to assist the affected families. As most of the families in flood affected areas lived in the ger2 district area, pit latrines were flooded with water, causing water borne diseases and diarrhea among the young children. As of 10 July, 12 people have been hospitalized for diarrhea – a number that represents 20 per cent of the all the emergency calls received by the hospital in Khovd province. Branch Disaster Response Team members in Khovd and Uvurkhangai provinces have been working closely with local authorities and are continuing to conduct assessments of the damages and effects to the population. Information from the ground has been provided to the Secretary General and disaster management programme. By the order of Secretary General, two members from MRCS’s NDRT were in the field to conduct assessments with the BDRT, while the remaining members are on full alert and are ready for deployment. Summary of the affected population and location based on assessment is tabulated below. 2 A “ger” is a traditional round shaped dwelling that has been used since the Mongols started nomadic life with animal husbandry. It is similar to a Russian yurt. P a g e | 3 Number of affected Number of Number of Location Damage households affected people deaths 200 families lost houses Jargalant soum, Khovd province 630 2,268 - completely Ulaankhus soum, Bayan-Ulgii 3 families lost houses 10 36 1 province completely 3 families lost houses Uliastai soum, Zavkhan province 43 154 - partially Uyanga soum, Uvurkhangai province 19 68 - 604 livestock perished 712 livestock perished, 55, Taragt soum, Uvurkhangai province 20 72 - 2 hectares agricultural land washed 10 families lost houses Khan-Uul district 70 252 - completely Total 792 2,850 1 Summary of affected population and locations. (Source: MRCS) Summary of the current response Overview of Host National Society The Mongolian Red Cross is a member of the National Emergency Commission and is actively involved in the planning and design of the national response to the emerging crisis. MRCS is coordinating its plans closely with local emergency management agencies in the respective provinces. MRCS NDRT members have been alerted and are on standby to provide assistance to affected communities. Mid-level branches of the MRCS and two NDRT members are collecting information from local soum3 authorities and conducting interviews with affected families and are participating in their respective local emergency commission meetings. Through its Regional Disaster Preparedness Centers, MRCS has provided support to 10 families affected in Bayan-Ulgii, 43 families in Zavkhan, and 25 families in Khan-Uul district with non-food items. These include blankets, mattresses, a kitchen set, and a hygiene kit. BDRT members are also providing psychosocial support to the affected population. NDRT and BDRT members in response The MRCS has had previous experiences from responses to emergencies, operations, Khovd province. (Photo: MRCS) has the capacity to respond, and has been strengthened through the development and adopting of response mechanisms. These include cash-based interventions, and building stronger partnerships and establishing strong ties with Khan Bank. Overview of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in country IFRC will support the MRCS in the implementation of activities through cash transfer support, procurement, and monitoring. The IFRC Country Cluster Support Team (CCST) in Beijing has been working closely with MRCS, and maintains close communication. The MRCS is also coordinating with the IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO). Overview of non-RCRC actors in country Local authorities in each province have deployed their emergency response teams to help affected families in evacuating from flooded areas, cleaning debris, mud, and draining flood waters. They have also established temporary shelters for families that have lost their homes completely, and have distributed bottled water to the affected families. No other developmental or humanitarian organizations are present in the field. 3 A “soum” is equivalent to a district - the smallest administrative unit in Mongolia. P a g e | 4 Needs analysis, targeting, scenario planning and risk assessment Needs analysis Needs assessments carried out by respective mid-level branches from 4 to 7 July 2018 indicated that the affected families are mainly in need of cash to provide for their immediate needs, and are in need of non-food items (NFIs) including blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and hygiene kits. During the assessment, MRCS also looked at the possibility and practicality of the planned cash and NFI assistance. This included gathering information on: • Level of vulnerability and relevance of beneficiary selection criteria at the local level • Accessibility to market for food and basic necessities • Availability and cost of banking services at local level • Access to bank accounts by families. • Accessibility of soum centres (distribution points and bank outlets) BDRT and NDRT members conducted assessments in affected areas and found that families whose homes were damaged completely and partially have both lost most of their household items, including mattresses, blankets, and kitchen utensils. Affected families who are currently in temporary shelters are also experiencing food shortages due to the loss of livelihoods and purchasing power. Markets are functioning and physically accessible, and banks are in close proximity. Affected families are also at health risks due to flooded pit latrines, water wells, and contaminated surrounding areas. Hygiene kits and hygiene promotion are needed for the families who are affected by the flooding. A ger flooded with contaminated water in one of the affected districts. (Photo: MRCS) The assessment concluded that cash transfers would be a very cost-effective and fast way of providing assistance to families. This would also allow them to adapt to the specific needs of individual families. Most families have bank accounts which makes cash transfers possible in most cases, and standing arrangements with the bank service allows for the creation of bank accounts free-of-charge. The appropriateness of cash-only assistance or a combination of non-food items and cash depends on the accessibility of the bank outlets and level of